Wandsworth Town and Wandsworth Common

What you said

People

• Drunk people hang around and litter outside East Hill and on benches at the Spit

• The Riverside Quarter feels unsafe for many, recent rape incidents have scared women, and parents are fearful to let their children out at night

• Young people often get mugged near King George’s Park

• More youth facilities needed

Place

• People like the Ram Quarter and Old York Road

• The Wandle Path, Spit, Wandle Bridge, nearby pathways and all routes to the Riverside Quarter feel unsafe

• Underpass alongside Wandsworth town Station, Smugglers Way and surrounds feel unsafe and needs more lighting

• Old Burial Ground feels unsafe at night

• Incidents of sexual violence on Mapleton Road, feels very unsafe and requires CCTV

• Riverside Quarter needs more CCTV and more layered lighting (not just direct light)

• Lights are too bright and blinding on the Causeway and on the footbridge over Wandle River

• Wandsworth High Street and bus stop on Fairfield Street outside the Town Hall feels unsafe at night after work

• King George’s Park feels unsafe at night but locking of park also an issue as forces people to walk long way round

• Wandsworth Park feels unsafe at night, especially for women and needs more lighting or gates locked at night

• Incidents of sexual violence on Mapleton Road, feels very unsafe and requires CCTV

• John Archer Way entrance to Wandsworth Common needs more lighting

• Cricket nets could be added on the Rugby pitch for evening sporting activity

Economy

• Riverside Quarter needs more activity and animation by filling the empty shops and spaces in the area

• The healthy food stalls outside Southside Shopping Centre, now closed, were a welcome addition to the town centre

Transport

• Cycling

  • There should be a path for cycling along the River Wandle leading to the Thames uninterrupted without having to go onto the main roads, which is particularly dangerous at night

  • The Ram Quarter pedestrian area should be open to cyclists, away from the dangerous one-way system

• Walking and wayfinding
  • All routes to the Riverside Quarter, including from the station, the Causeway, Smuggler’s Way, Bell Lane Creek Bridge and through Wandsworth Park feel unsafe for women due to poor lighting, no public transport and deserted entrances
  • The Buckhold Road and Wandsworth High Street crossing has an overcrowded island that is deadly dangerous and people have already died here
  • Wayfinding from Wandsworth Town through the Ram Quarter to Southside needs to be improved
• Public transport

  • Wandsworth Town Station exit does not feel safe at night

  • Trains have become less frequent

  • Bus timings are problematic

  • The 485 bus would be much more useful if it passed the station

  • Need a night bus passing through the Riverside Quarter

What we recommend:

• Work with Parks Team to provide safety interventions and lighting at entrance of parks and Common, and consider diversifying sports offer

• Introduce activities for young people

• Discuss with Police and consider creative interventions at street drinking hotspots and isolated areas like the Wandle Path, the Spit and Smugglers Way

• Encourage creative interventions and increased activity / businesses open at night at the Riverside Quarter

• Introduce considerate lighting in appropriate locations

• Improve aesthetic of underpass alongside Wandsworth Town Station and discuss safety around station entrance at night with Southwestern Trains

• Consider healthy food night market outside Southside Shopping Centre

• Improve cycle path provision away from one-way system and along the River Wandle

• Discuss bus routes with TfL to better connect station and Riverside Quarter

• Widen overcrowded island crossing on Wandsworth High Street

• Improve wayfinding from the station to the Ram Quarter, Ram Quarter and Riverside Quarter